Born and raised in South Africa, Jodi Samuels did not grow up religious. At 18, she decided to come to Israel for a post–high school gap year in seminary, a choice that was almost unheard of at the time for South African Jews.
“In those days… people didn’t come to Israel for their gap year, certainly not from South Africa, maybe if they were religious, yes.”
Her Jewish journey had begun just months earlier, sparked by a simple encounter with “a cute guy on a school bus” who invited her to synagogue on a Friday night. Despite her parents’ initial resistance, she felt a pull she couldn’t ignore and convinced them to let her go.
Learn how to buy your home in Israel with confidenceThe next turning point came in Jerusalem, when Samuels met her husband on a street corner just off Ben-Yehuda Street. A young man, named Gavin, who appeared to be lost, approached her and asked her if she spoke English. It turned out that he was also South African and was in Israel on a medical elective at Hadassah-University Medical Center. Like Samuels, he had not grown up Orthodox, but he had come to the Western Wall with a specific prayer: a note asking to meet his future wife. The pair hit it off and have been married for over 30 years.
On their second date, Samuels laid out her life plan with clarity.
“I told him I want two things in my life: to live in Israel and to have an open home.”
The couple decided to return to South Africa but always dreamed of making aliyah. From their very first Shabbat as a married couple, their home was open and they hosted guests. But aliyah would take far longer than anticipated. Financial constraints and student loans delayed their plans, sending the couple on a series of global detours.
“Our two-year plan to move to Israel landed up being a 22-year plan,” said Samuels.
They began by living in remote regions of Australia and New Zealand, where Gavin worked with the flying doctor service, before moving to Manhattan, where they spent 15 years.
“Along the way, I’d become a princess,” Samuels said, laughing. “I was a princess living in Manhattan when my husband kept reminding me of the real plan: aliyah.”
Finally, in 2014, after more than two decades, the family returned to Israel.
“Instead of being wandering Jews, we came home,” Samuels reflected.
Creating Jewish spaces: New York to Jerusalem
By the time she arrived in Israel, Samuels was a seasoned community activist, businesswoman, and entrepreneur.
Her passion for creating Jewish spaces for newcomers had begun long before aliyah and she had always been involved in her community. Just three weeks after arriving in New York, she ended up hosting a Shabbat meal for foreign MBA students at Columbia University.
“I landed up having 36 people from 30 countries and I had this epiphany that people who are new to a city need a Jewish home away from home.”
That vision became Jewish International Connection (JIC), an organization dedicated to creating community for young Jewish professionals far from home. Samuels worked as JIC’s chief volunteer for 15 years, nurturing it into a vibrant and growing platform.
When she made aliyah, many people asked her what would happen to the organization. As it turned out, Samuels had a plan. Just days after arriving in Jerusalem, she asked around about what was being planned for the Shabbat Project, a major global initiative. She was surprised to hear that there were no plans in Jerusalem.
“How can the capital of the Jewish people not be doing something for this big worldwide Shabbat project?”
She reached out to a friend, also an olah, to help her plan something. The Shabbat Project that year was that weekend, and they only started advertising on Tuesday. But only several days later they managed to organize a challah bake at First Station, attracting 600 women in total. This was followed by a Shabbat dinner for young professionals, some who had attended her events in New York, and a Havdalah event for 300 people in the Old City, cementing JIC’s presence in Israel just within a week of her arrival.
What began around her dining table grew into a structured organization which Samuels has been running for 25 years, hosting Shabbat meals, social gatherings such as hikes and dating events, workshops, and Israel advocacy programming.
JIC also partners with two other nonprofit organizations, Justifi and Jroots, to run trips abroad. These have included a recent visit to Poland with Jroots, as well as trips to India, South Africa, and Peru, with a trip to Thailand planned next. The purpose of these experiences, Samuels said, is to inspire and empower participants to step out of their comfort zones and gain new perspectives.
“Our trips are not just hop on and off a bus and take Instagram photos. But they also have meaning whether it’s spiritual or volunteer work.”
“Justifi stands for Just If I. It empowers people to see just if I take a stand, just if I make a difference.”
Samuels emphasized that JIC is not a business but rather her passion which she is fully dedicated to.
“We do this with passion and purpose. This isn’t just a job. We truly, truly put our heart and soul into it.”
All her events are carefully curated, with prior screening to ensure the right mix of age groups and diversity. Participants come from all over the world and from various backgrounds. The organization also works a lot with lone soldiers, hosting them, providing meals, and raising funds.
“I really, truly make sure it’s a group experience where everybody meets and connects.”
“At the end of the day, young professionals are looking for the same thing. They’re looking for meaningful connection. Community. We understood that is what is needed,” she says.
The primary goal of JIC, Samuels explains, is to connect people, build community, and ensure that participants feel seen and heard. A key part of that mission is creating opportunities for Israelis and olim to meet, helping newcomers integrate more naturally into Israeli society. Many couples have even met at its events, leading to 156 marriages so far and JIC has hosted many Sheva Brachot.
Aside from JIC, Jodi hosts hasbara (advocacy) groups in conjunction with Shabbat of a lifetime, a Jerusalem-based organization that arranges meaningful Shabbat experiences for visitors and tourists from various backgrounds at the homes of local host families.
<br><strong>Advocacy and inclusion</strong>
Alongside community-building, as the mother of a child with Down syndrome, Samuels is a prominent advocate in the disability sphere.
“My daughter Callia was born in 2008. We did pre-screening, but we did not know that she had a diagnosis, and on the third day of her life, the doctor walked in and said, ‘Mrs. Samuels, did you do genetic testing? And those were the words that changed my life.”
“For me, this was absolute terror. My family had a lot of trauma around it as I had a family member who had been institutionalised. In the 70s the world was about institutionalizing, putting your child away, and forgetting the ‘problem.’ I just knew this wasn’t going to be my reality.”
Reflecting on the challenges of raising a child with special needs, Samuels cites Rabbi Jonathan Sacks:
“We begin to achieve greatness when we pass on our values to the next generation.”
“We decided we were not going to be victims. Kayla was going to be our princess, we were going to expect from her the same as what we expect from any kid, except no disappointment if she doesn’t reach it. That became our mantra.”
The journey has not been easy and the family faced discrimination early-on, notably when Samuel’s daughter was not accepted into a Jewish nursery program on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
“We were asking for a two-year-old program, we weren’t asking for first grade, we weren’t asking for high school, we weren’t asking for guaranteed entrance to Harvard. In spite of the values of a two-year program being communication and socialization skills, we were locked out.”
The experience was particularly difficult as the couple had recently become religious.
“We had become religious. We’d gone on this journey, we devote ourselves to community, and suddenly we felt locked out of the community. It was devastating.”
Another pivotal moment occurred on Martin Luther King Day when, after advocating for her daughter, Samuels received an email from a board member of the modern Orthodox Jewish day school: “You chose to bring this problem into the world. Don’t make your problem ours.”
Although she says that she had always been shy, Samuels realized she needed to speak out: “I realized I needed to have a voice in this issue. Martin Luther King used to say: ‘We begin to die when we’re silent about the things that matter.’”
“I was very, very shy. And there was my light camera action moment. I had to find my voice for the sake of my daughter.”
This marked the beginning of her platform, Jodi’s Voice, where she speaks for multiple communities and advocates for inclusion.
<br><strong>Memoirs: Chutzpah, Wisdom, and Wine and more</strong>
Samuels has also written a memoir, Chutzpah, Wisdom, and Wine, which reflects on her journey, life’s challenges, and the philosophy that drives her.
Chutzpah, she explains, is the ability to not accept no.
“We know in Israel that ‘no’ is the starting point of a negotiation. That rules are rules, but if they don’t make sense you can find your way around them without being an anarchist.”
It is also about enjoying the journey, not fearing failure, and believing that tomorrow will be better.
Wisdom refers to Torah, which keeps her focused while wine represents the philosophy of living hard and playing hard: “It’s about stopping and appreciating blessings, living with gratitude.”
Samuels believes everyone has the power to change the world in their own way:
“You can’t change the whole world, but you can change your corner of the world. I believe that this was my opportunity, at least for my daughter, to make a change.”
She is now working on her next book, Real Inclusion, which focuses on the chutzpah of genuine inclusion, because “yes, it does take chutzpah to actually believe our kids can and should be included.”
In her other upcoming book, Challah, Wisdom, and Wine: Stories of a Global Shabbat Table, Samuels shares her experiences hosting thousands of people from different countries, and the lessons learned from these gatherings.
“I believe this book is a great platform to share not only what Shabbat is, but also the values of Israel and Jewish community. Shabbat has so much power, to impact us, now future generations, about stopping what’s urgent for what’s important.”
People have often approached Samuels saying that they didn’t really care about being Jewish, but that they felt lonely and the first place they come to is a Shabbat meal.
“I think a Shabbat meal is an incredible opportunity to build bridges and to break barriers. It’s the most powerful way to give people an understanding when you come into someone’s home and you see them in their environment.”
<br><strong>Living the vision</strong>
When asked why she made aliyah, Samuels responded that she has always been passionate about Israel and believes this is where the Jewish future lies. Since October 7, she actually feels more at home in Israel. Although she holds several passports, she emphasizes:
“At the end of the day, there’s one passport that’s going to count in the future and it’s my Israeli one.”
When reflecting on the challenges she has experienced along the way, Samuels said that the support she has received and positive interactions with like-minded people have made a big difference.
For example, when applying for her daughter to be accepted at a local Chabad school, the principal said: “Jodi, this interview is over right now. Every Jewish child has the right to a Jewish education and your child is welcome to come to our school.”
More than three decades after meeting her husband off Ben-Yehuda Street, Samuels’s life reflects the clarity she voiced to her husband on her second date: she wanted to live in Israel, and she wanted an open home.
Today, both are realities - not only in her private life but on a communal scale. Through JIC, through advocacy, and through relentless initiative, she has transformed a personal commitment into a public platform for connection.
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